Peanut butter and bagels. Granola bars. Beef jerky. I like to mix my own trail mix: toasted almonds, dark chocolate chunks, craisins, and raisins. Canned salmon and crackers. Smoked oysters and crackers. Hard-boiled eggs are good for a day without refrigeration.

If you want to get into camping/backpacking regular-like, just invest in a lightweight mountaineer's stove. Canned salmon and Zatarain's rice mixes, or salmon and cous-cous. If you don't mind the weight, bring fresh veggies for the first night. My lady and I like to bring stir-fry veggies for the first dinner, and julienned apple, onion, and sweet potato for the first breakfast. As long as I carry it.

That said, I don't think I've ever camped without a stove or open fire. That gives a lot more (and better tasting) options, especially in the dried food variety. Also gives you the possibility to take good fresh meat and cook it later on tour.

--J

[edit] Regarding bread, we have this "crispbread" type of dry, crisp (duh) bread that stays good for months or years even, if it's stored in dry conditions. That's my staple food on tours, as it's high on fibre and very light to carry. Something similar might be available to you, here's a link to one manufacturer: http://www.finncrisp.com/ [/edit]

+1 to much of that stuff. Especially PB+Plain bagel, my standard backpacking lunch.

A very dry bread, as Juha mentions, will keep a long time. This was the standard food for oceanic voyages and military campaigns centuries ago. You can still buy hard-tack here: the supplier of hard-tack to the Union army. They are pretty plain.

I also will bring a stove camping. I have an early 50s vintage Coleman 2 burner stove for base camping and an MSR Simmerlite for when I'm more mobile. If the lack of stove is cost, you can make alcohol stoves from recycled materials. Be warned, however, that the alcohol stoves are far more dangerous and not kid friendly in the least. But through-hikers love them for their light weight, ease of fuel procurement and simplicity.

This. It's like lembas bread from Lord of the Rings. It'll last forever and give you a ton of energy.

Lemon-Raisin Breakfast BarsRecipe Ingredients

2 Cups raisins

14 Ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon lemon rind

1 Cup butter

1 1/3 Cups brown sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla

1 Cup flour

1/2 Teaspoon baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 1/2 Cups rolled oats

1 Cup chopped walnuts

Serves: 6 (2 bars per serving)At Home: In a saucepan, combine raisins, milk, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Heat and stir until bubbling, then remove from heat to cool slightly. In a bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla to make a batter. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt, then add oats and walnuts. Press all but 2 cups of the batter into a greased 13 x 9-inch pan. Spread raisin mixture on top of batter to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Sprinkle with dollops of reserved batter; press lightly. Bake at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool, then slice into 12 bars and package 2 bars per zipper-lock plasic bag.Calories: 1165Carbohydrates: 166Cholesterol: 113Dietary Fiber : 5Fiber: 6.8Protein: 17.1Saturated Fat: 25.4Sodium: 696Total Fat: 52.5

You see, their morals, their code...it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these...These "civilized" people...they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve

Good ideas above, well some of them anyway. Think of almond butter and a good hearty bread, granola, lots and lots of fruit (Costco has dried blueberries that are great), nuts. I also take a handful of Baby Bell cheese, no refrigeration needed for up to a week. Throw in some juice and powdered milk and you are good to go. You can get by without meat for months at a time, but jerky is a good thing, maybe some salmon jerky, that's some good stuff.

Nice light edible protein - most asian markets carry dried fish and cuttlefish. No refrigeration needed. Comes in a light weight plastic package. They are alittle salty though, not a bad thing on a back pack trip. Remember what you carry in must be packed out that includes Spam cans...

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Private docent led mountain bike rides through Limestone Canyon. Go to letsgooutside.org and register today! Also available: hikes, equestrian rides and family events as well as trail maintenance and science study.

Private docent led mountain bike rides through Limestone Canyon. Go to letsgooutside.org and register today! Also available: hikes, equestrian rides and family events as well as trail maintenance and science study.

Just go to the Dollar stores and get stuff there. It won't kill you to live off Poptarts and sardines for a few days. You could even throw in some canned or fresh fruit. And chips. And cookies. And...............